In fact, what is telling is that iMovie HD 6 is still available for download from Apple! They know very well that they totally ruined it with iMovie 2008 and the updates that followed. I cannot tell about the current version though since I have yet to try it out.

I am really disappointed to hear that there are still such issues. I was using for some simple things the old iMovie HD 6. It was mostly for synchronizing a movie with an audio track, export to a video file and edit in Quicktime to cut the redundant parts in the beginning and the end. It worked perfectly. Then Apple brutally switched in 2008 to the new iMovie. A memorable disaster! Fortunately, iMovie HD 6 was still around. But over the years, I moved on to HD video just...

What condescending comments about the optical drives here! I am looking into the future, I am glad that Apple also does and it shows, so dropping the optical drive is not of importance to me personally. But saying that no one needs optical drives today is way off reality. There is a huge legacy of content, and still much distribution, in optical disks; you cannot just forget about it. The obvious solution is an external optical drive. Fortunately, it is available and I...

That was my dream before the official announcement of the Mac Pro specifications and possible configurations. It did not happen and I don't see it happening in the near future. However, the new Mac Pro design could serve as a basis for a unified desktop line in some future time. But with today's mentality, Apple seeks a clear differentiation between desktop lines, starting from the level of design.

No more storage is needed if the use is really limited to that (university work/documents, courses, etc.). Is it though? This is where the problem comes from. Audio/video storage and processing. High definition video, produced nowadays even by digital cameras in the reach of everyone, eats GB's for breakfast. And photo/music/video is a primary target for Apple. OK, we have the iMac for that. But if you want to go mobile, then the only reasonable solution is the ordinary...

True, and it is not Apple's fault entirely. We live in a "schizophrenic" (in the literal meaning) transitional period, in which cheap and slow media providing huge amount or storage room (HDD) coexist with very expensive and fast media that are thin on storage room (SSD). It seems that it will take a while before SSD's be inexpensive and large enough to phase out hard disks as a viable alternative.

Indeed. EU put pressure lately on Apple to extend its warranty to two years, according to European law valid for every company selling products on its territory. The move followed the aggressive Italian policy on the issue, that threatened to completely shut down Apple business in Italy and impose hefty fines. Belgium followed, and according to reports other European countries also. About time.

The huge discussion over at Apple forums about image retention still runs strong. The reports are mixed, some machines have image retention right out of the box, others don't but who knows what will happen with time. So, if you buy such a MacBook Pro, you are still playing the lottery regarding this specific issue. What a bummer.